Chris Pratt, Halle Bailey, and Melissa McCarthy top survey of most anticipated 2023 movie performances

When it comes to getting audiences out to theaters, Disney and Marvel seem likely to still be juggernauts in that arena in 2023.

In its annual Most Anticipated Movies Survey, Fandango honed in on the titles and performances audiences are most excited for in the coming year.

Disney entities reigned supreme in several categories with Halle Bailey as Ariel in The Little Mermaid named the most anticipated new performance, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula in the same film the most anticipated villain, and Chris Pratt as Peter Quill (a.k.a. Star-Lord) in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 the most anticipated hero.

The most anticipated blockbusters are all sequels, with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, John Wick: Chapter 4, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny taking the top five spots.

Steve Granitz/FilmMagic; Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

The survey also suggests there may be an uptick in box office returns following the still sluggish recovery after the COVID-19 shutdown, as 97 percent of respondents say they plan to see more films in theaters in 2023 than they did in 2022.

"With more than a hundred new releases heading into theaters, fans are excited to see movies back on the big screen where they belong," said Fandango Managing Director Erik Davis in a statement. "The new year promises a significant increase of movies that people want to see in theaters, from returning franchises like Indiana Jones, Creed, Hunger Games and Mission Impossible, to highly-anticipated re-imaginings like The Little Mermaid and Haunted Mansion, to off-the-wall entertainment like Cocaine Bear and M3gan. 2023 boasts one of the most exciting movie line-ups in years."

Check out the full results of the survey below.

2023's Most Anticipated Blockbusters:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

3. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

4. John Wick: Chapter 4

5. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

6. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

7. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

8. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of the Songbirds and Snakes

9. Creed III

10. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Most Anticipated New Performance on the Big Screen:

1. Halle Bailey (The Little Mermaid)

2. Viola Davis (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes)

3. Jonathan Majors (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania)

4. Christopher Walken (Dune: Part 2)

5. Margot Robbie (Barbie)

Most Anticipated Hero:

1. Chris Pratt as Star-Lord (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)

2. Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny)

3. Keanu Reeves as John Wick (John Wick 4)

4. Zoe Saldana as Gamora (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)

5. Paul Rudd as Ant-Man (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania)

Most Anticipated Villain:

1. Melissa McCarthy as Ursula (The Little Mermaid)

2. Bill Skarsgård as the Marquis (John Wick 4)

3. Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania)

4. Jack Black (voice) as Bowser (The Super Mario Bros. Movie)

5. Jason Momoa as Dante (Fast X)

Most Anticipated Family Film:

1. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

2. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

3. The Little Mermaid

4. Haunted Mansion

5. Pixar's Elemental

Most Anticipated Horror Film:

1. Salem's Lot

2. Insidious: Fear the Dark

3. The Exorcist

4. Scream 6

5. M3gan

Most Anticipated Live-Action Comedy:

1. Magic Mike's Last Dance

2. Barbie

3. Cocaine Bear

4. House Party

5. 80 for Brady

Most Anticipated Action/Adventure (Non-Superhero) Movie:

1. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

2. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

3. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of the Songbirds and Snakes

4. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

5. Fast X

Most Anticipated Superhero Movies

1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

3. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

4. The Marvels

5. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

Favorite Genre:

1. Action/Adventure/Superhero

2. Comedy

3. Animated/Family

4. Drama

5. Horror/Thriller

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